Pakistan rowers return with 10 medals

KARACHI: Pakistan rowers returned home on Sunday after winning 10 medals at the Association of School Rowing in Asia (ASRA) Championship 2014 in Dubai.

Bay View Academy (BVA) won the overall ASRA Championship trophy and received the award for the best seniors’ boys’ team, while they finished second in the junior U15 boys category with two bronze medals in single scull and quadruple scull.

Pakistan won four gold medals, including one in the girls’ junior double scull event by Convent of Jesus and Mary’s (CJM), while Centre of Advanced Studies (CAS) took silver medal in the same category.

The girls also won silver in the quadruple scull and Nixor College took bronze medal in the girls’ seniors’ single scull.

Pakistan faced tough competition from Sri Lanka, who also won four gold medals in the girls’ competition, while hosts United Arab Emirates bagged three gold medals and India won one.

The future of Pakistan rowing is bright: Babai

BVA’s Hassan Currimbhoy won a gold medal in the single scull competition, while his teammates Khwaja Amin Zeb and Zain Abbas won gold medals in the doubles seniors scull. Together with Shaharyar Ali Khan, they won the quadruple event as well.

All four rowers proved their mettle as the top competitors in the region.

They were also the gold medalists of the U15 event in the last edition of the ASRA Championship in Karachi in 2012.

“They are very talented rowers,” the Pakistan Rowing Federation (PRF) vice-president Abdul Rahim Babai told The Express Tribune. “They are the future of rowing for Pakistan.”

Nehan Asad, who won a gold medal and silver for CJM, said it was a tough competition for her.

“It was all about technique and power,” said Nehan. “As a rower we are always awake, thinking fast. It was a wonderful experience, and we competed among the best rowers from the region.”